The morning of your wedding day can be some of the most fun you’ll have — but without the proper planning and guidance, it can turn into a major source of stress and delays. In this blog post I'll go over tips and tricks that will increase your chances of sipping more bubbly and less time worrying.
I should start by saying, every planner and/or photographer may have their own methods and ways of doing things, so keep that in mind when you approach this topic with them. Always over communicate with your vendors to ensure expectations are set and everyone is on the same page.
THE FIRST HOUR
DETAILS
15-20 Minutes
The first hour of preps is packed with things to do! When your photographer arrives they'll immediately start shooting the ‘details’ of your day. Details are things like your dress, your shoes, invitation suite, and any jewelry you may be wearing.
PRO TIP: It’s very important to have all details ready and in one location for your photographer to photograph. I recommend having these ready to go the night before so you're not scrambling the morning of the wedding. And although there are not as many details for the gentlemen, your photographer will still shoot theirs so the same advice applies!
ADDITIONAL TIPS TO CONSIDER:
Have the dress unwrapped, out of the bag, and on the hanger you’d like it photographed on. Your photographer would much rather spend those 10 minutes it would take to unwrap, capturing your memories! This is a great job to give to one of your bridesmaids or your planner if you're using one!
Ask your florist to include scrap pieces of flowers/pedals/greenery from the florals. We’ll use these pieces to stylize the invitation suite and other details and tie everything together. In 14 years of photographing weddings, I've only ever heard of 1 florist charging for these scraps - if they want to charge you, push back on them! They would end up in the garbage anyway!
Don’t be afraid to include personal items that have meaning to you in your details!
Buy a nice hanger to put your dress on. You don’t need anything fancy – a solid wood one is actually perfect – anything but the plastic hanger the dress will come on!
Ring Boxes are a great way to showcase your new bling. While not necessary, it does make our jobs easier when we know we can use beautiful ring boxes in our detail set.
I get asked all the time if your soon-to-be spouses ring should be with the main details or not. This is a personal preference but my suggestion is if the preps for both are at the same location, then adding the others' ring makes much more sense. If you have separate locations for the getting ready portion of the day, it's not worth the risk of getting them back to the other person.
CANDIDS
5-10 minutes
Once the details have been captured, your photographer will most likely photograph some candid photos of you and your friends and family having a great time. Try to relax and not worry about the cameras. It might be difficult at first but as the day goes on you’ll forget the cameras are even there!
PRO TIP: Create a wedding day music playlist that includes all your favorite songs and be sure to have it turned up! Old favorites, new favorites, even ask for some bridal party favorites so you can get everyone feeling awesome!
HAIR & MAKEUP TOUCHUPS
5 Minutes
OK it’s time to #GetReal. What we are about to tell you is a fact having shot well over 300 weddings. Hair and makeup is the #1 cause for timeline delays. It’s not always their fault since they have a lot of people to get through but it’s imperative you tell your H&M people that you need to be completely done and ready to go 30 minutes prior to the actual time you need to be done. This will give your photographer a little buffer just incase things are running behind (and they most likely will).
When you’re completely done with your H&MU, we’ll ask to shoot a few staged photos of you getting touchups done. The reason we do this is because most of the time your hair stylists and makeup artists will sit you in the darkest part of the room, using their artificial lights to do their job. Natural sunlight/window light is much much better. If you want to save time (always a good idea), ask your H&MU people to set up near large windows or doors – anywhere there’s ample window light.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
This is a photograph of a real bride getting her makeup done under the Makeup Artists artificial light. Unfortunately due to timing constraints, we could not stage any makeup or hair shots under optimal conditions. Notice how “muddy” the photo is
NATURAL LIGHT
This is a photograph of one of our brides during our “staged” touchups. We brought her and her makeup artist over to a window and used only natural daylight. SO. MUCH. BETTER.
ROBE/PAJAMA PHOTOS
15 Minutes
Hopefully at this point everyone in your bridal party (including you) is done with hair and makeup. If you and your girls are wearing matching robes or special garments, now's the time we’ll grab some shots of you all wearing them. After we’re done with the robe shots, tell anyone you want helping you into your dress, to get dressed themselves!
THE GUYS
We can’t forget about the men! But truth be told, their morning is a lot easier. As mentioned earlier, your photographer will most likely start with shooting details. That should take about 15 minutes to complete. As we recommended to our bride, the groom should also have all his details in one location. Details for the men usually include:
Shoes
Socks
Tie/Bowtie
Cufflinks
Rings (if with him)
Suit/Tux (on hanger)
Watch
Once the details are complete, we’ll bring your man over to a window and have him get dressed. First a few shots solo and then we’ll include his best man and/or father (or anyone else important in his life). Once fully dressed, we’ll shoot a few portraits of him – first by himself, and then with the other individuals that are present.
NOW LET’S GET YOU IN THAT DRESS!
It’s time to get into your dress! At this point, the people helping you into your dress should be in their formal attire – to me it just looks better than if they’re still in their sweats/robes. Ultimately though, this is your call on how you want them to look. We recommend only having the most important people in your life helping you – if not, the room could get over crowded.
The moments of you stepping into the dress can be really beautiful. I prefer to be present so I can capture what’s going on, but understand this isn’t for everyone. For those who don’t want their photographer there, talk to them beforehand about this moment and say you'd rather them step out of the room until you’re comfortable. Remember to call your photographer back in when you’re covered up though - we want those final zips documented!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LIGHT
Where you’ll actually get into your dress will depend on a few factors but most important is the light in the room. If your preps are happening at your childhood home and you want to get ready in the room you grew up in, your photographer should do everything in their power to make it work but don’t be surprised if they request to redo some photos in a room with better light.
Here I photographed the bride getting dressed in her parents' bedroom as requested (left) and then redid the same photo in a room with better lighting (right).
PRO TIP: Even though you're Wedding Ready, been eating clean, and looking and feeling your best, those moments getting into your dress can be stressful! It's really important you take deep breaths and smile. The stress will pass but these photos will last generations - even if you're not feeling it at the moment, remember to show those pearly whites!
JEWELRY & SHOES
Remember that your photographers and cinematographers will want to document you getting into every aspect of your wedding attire. That includes you putting on any jewelry and your shoes. This is also a great opportunity for other important people in your life to get some screen time so designate who you'll want to put these pieces on you.
GIFTS & CARDS
At this point you’re completely dressed and technically ready to get to either your first look or the ceremony. However there are still a few key moments that are great storytelling opportunities that will be used in your wedding album and/or your film: A gift and card exchange.
First, let me just say you don't need to do either of these two things. This is simply a suggestion and what I've seen over the course of my career that most couples do. If you're writing your own custom vows to each other, you probably don't need to do a card since you'll be spilling your heart during those. But to those who are doing the "repeat after me" type vows and want to let their significant other know how special they are in the privacy of their own room, a card is a great idea.
PRO TIP: I prefer you read your card out loud so I can use it in the film – another great storytelling moment! If you don't feel comfortable reading the whole thing, find a few lines you'd be willing to read out loud or make a secondary card to one another that's OK to read out loud.
IMPORTANT PERSON FIRST LOOK
If there’s someone special in your life that you want to reveal yourself in your dress to, we’ll do that at this point in time. We’ll have them enter the room and see you in all your glory. It usually results in some really sweet and tender moments.
BRIDESMAIDS FIRST LOOK
Let’s assume you took my advice and only let a select few people help you get dressed. That means there’s potentially a good number of your bridesmaids who haven’t seen you in your wedding dress. Guess what – another storytelling opportunity! Your photogratpher will gather all your girls into one room and have you enter. I especially love this moment b/c we’ll see a bunch of different emotions – from shock and amazement to tears of happiness and joy. Never do anything you don’t want to, so if this isn’t something that interests you, no worries!
PORTRAITS
If you’re seeing each other at a first look, we would leave for that now. However if you’re seeing each other in the traditional setting of the ceremony, we’ll want to grab as many portraits before the ceremony as possible. That includes parents, bridal party, and any family members that are there at your preps. Our goal is to get all solo combinations (meaning any requested photographs where it’s just YOU, not you + your soon-to-be spouse) completed.
You should provide your photographer with a very detailed list of combinations that you want them to photograph. My biggest fear is that days, months, or years after your wedding, you realize you never got a photo of you and someone important in your life. A wedding day is jam packed with things to do, I don’t want to leave this part of the day up to chance.
Here’s what a typical photo list looks like before the ceremony (note these will differ slightly depending on your family and bridal party). Also, if we are running behind in regards to timing, we’ll do these during the family formal session:
YOU + MOM
YOU + DAD
YOU + MOM + DAD
YOU + SIBLINGS + MOM + DAD
YOU + SIBLINGS
YOU + EACH BRIDESMAID
HEAD TO CEREMONY
You’ve done everything you need to do – now it’s time to get married! If time allows, your photographer may stay and photograph you getting into your car. If not, both the photo and video teams will capture you arriving at your ceremony location and exiting your transportation.
GROOM
Arrive 30 MINUTES PRIOR
This will give you enough time to welcome some of your guests, speak with your officiant, and make sure you don’t cross paths with your bride.
BRIDE
Arrive 10 minutes prior
This will have you there on time but not too early.
I hope this was helpful and gives you an idea of what your preps will look like the morning of your wedding day. Happy planning!
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